The Gamer's Quarter

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

I've always had a bit of a thing for cartmelized onions, myself.

The snippet of the new theme here (it's a really small snippet) sounds pretty rock 'n roll. Mr. Gold seems to have given it a bit of a roadhouse beat.
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aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

By the way, I have built up a collection, if anyone is especially bored!
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

That McCoy tribute to little man was pretty good.

Also, is there an "impossible!" collection for tennant?

That Steampunk Dalek is awesome too. The video looks like the intro for a videogame.

Also, after watching that "Canon since 1966" video this one was pretty funny even if I hate the song.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

I'm really not impressed with this clip of the new Davros.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7Z1RbUYNsyc

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

I'm not sure that Eric Saward would approve either.

Whoa, speaking of, playing with fire again, in response to yet another "But is Moffat as good as the best of the classic series writers?!" thread:

I'm not sure that there is a fair comparison, as Moffat has such a more thorough understanding of screenwriting as a form than was readily available when the classic series was in production. Deconstructionism was in its infancy. Postmodernism only began to trickle in during the Cartmel era, and then rather awkwardly. Literary theory has only really blown up in the last couple of decades. And of course, he has so much more range of writing experience...

And then, most of the classic series writers were jobbing hacks, who didn't much aspire to sophistication -- certainly not to the level present in Moffat's work. (Yes, that includes Bob Holmes. It's not all that clever to turn around the monster movie of the week and stick the Doctor in it; it's just your typical exploitation parade.) But that's not their fault; it's the way TV was generally produced back then. Pulp was the order of the day. If he's comparable to anyone back then, I'd say Nigel Kneale would be on a pretty similar level. You'd have to keep an eye out for cranky, misunderstood visionaries. (You recall that Kneale repeatedly refused to write for Doctor Who. There are good reasons!)

Of course, those guys would have figured out most of their tricks on their own. Moffat has the benefit of a zillion other people's analysis and instant communication. He's mostly just applying existing tools in a virtuosic way, rather than creating them wholecloth -- which is a completely different form of creativity. Thus, again, problems in comparison.

Just to set the cat amongst the pigeons, I'd say that Pip & Jane Baker are probably the most contemporary-feeling writers from the classic series. Visionaries they weren't, of course. Yet deliberately or not, their work is rife with postmodern irony and a certain analytical approach to the source material that isn't all too far from what Moffat uses. Probably much of that comes from their detachment (i.e., not knowing what the hell they were doing), but the end effect is a certain affectionate drollness that feels very current.

EDIT: I just remembered that Douglas Adams exists. Well, there you go.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

So, like I'm at 22.3% of you know what because it's you know which day.

QUESTION:

I want to put this onto a DVD/CD and watch it on a DVD player that can play divx files. It's codec is:
Video Codec.......: XviD ISO MPEG-4 - AVI(.AVI) - AVI v1.0

What to I need to do to make it work on said dvd player? I don't have a whole lot of discs to mess around with for dvds and I don't have any programs for burning them on this PC unfortunately.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

It might just work if it's XVID. If it doesn't work, use AVI4CC, here, and swap it from XVID to DIVX. This will change the identifier code, and might work.

If that doesn't work, you probably will need to use Virtualdub and re-encode it at a smaller resolution or bitrate. However, if you have an Xbox360 or PS3, it should now chomp through pretty much any Divx or Xvid AVI.

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I don't think I can make it much bigger or it won't fit on a CD.

With that said, I have absolutly no desire to decrease the resolution.

I'll burn it onto a CD and pop it into all three things (the DVD/360/PS3) and see if I can get anything out of it. If not, I'll recode.

Also: I had no idea whatsoever that you could play DivX shit on the 360! I know that theres a PS3 update with it, but I haven't updated mine in a really long time. So I should probably do that.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

What the fuck? You can play divx files on the 360? I've a nifty little Philips thing that'll do it, and I use it all the time for that.

Regarding the episode: Good lord, that was so wonderfully stupid in places. You know that certain people are going to explode, but it's amazing. Anyone who watched that "Flight of the Darned" Youtube video, there's a bit toward the end that will stand out.

Seriously, I almost fell out of my chair at least three times, for my guffawing.

This was really well-done. One of Davies' better scripts. Self-referential without being annoying. Great dialog in places. Tennant just keeps getting better. It did a lot of rather more serious things that I really didn't expect it to, also.

And yeah, this theme arrangement fits Tennant rather better. Orchestral rockabilly.
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Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

If you have something USB, too, (portable HD, usb memory stick, or, hell, on the PS3, a regular memory stick of some kind, like the pro duo), you should be able to hook it to the system. On the PS3, you have to hit triangle while hilighting the device, and click on, I think 'browse.' I'm not sure about the 360, I haven't tested the DIVX out but it should be in the newest update.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Yeah, I got that you can connect the USB devices. I've used that for other things. It didn't occur to me that I could just stick an archive DVD in there, though. For some file formats. The interface is even not-annoying!

I wonder. Can you transfer save files to stuff you've connected by USB?
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

Yeah, I just put it on a USB stick and put it in the 360. It asked me to download some small software and then POOF it worked. The quality is a bit low with digital artifacting, but I imagine most non-PC programs are going to look that way. It was stupidly simple BUT you need to hit X on the media/video browser to change sources. Oh, and the lip sync was off from the audio. Or was that just me?
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

baron patsy · . Joined: 15 Feb 2005 Posts: 58

So, Davros semi-confirmed, maybe? Could be intentionally misleading, but I doubt it.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

I do believe that's an extreme close-up Sontaran!

There was a moment just recently, though, at the launch party, where some kid asked Davies whether it was true that Davros was returning. "Davros, huh? Do you want him to return?" "Yes!" And he began to stroke his chin. "Well, I'll see what I can do about that."

He could have been a little subtler there.
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aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

You can copy any save from the PS3 to any attached media device. You can also copy PS2 saves and PS1 saves you have on there. I did this with a game I was playing at a buddy's. I have no idea about the 360, though, they have it locked down pretty tight, to be honest.

Shaper: Try it on the PS3 and see if you have sync problems? I don't know the ins and outs on the 360 version, but the PS3 has great upscaling comparitively. DVDs look like crap on the 360 on a HD set, too, to my eye.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Yeah, the 360 doesn't seem to know what upscaling is. It's a little weird to see.

I just found a quote (referring to last night's episode) that pretty much sums up Who fandom:

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

This occurred to me just now, and I'm not sure if Who fandom brought it up, but I guess maybe not because they never go for anything simple. We know Rose "returns," but what if she really doesn't "return" persay? I mean.. this is a time travel show, right? What if Donna just gets stuck back a year or two ago where Rose is still there? It's not like she was completely written out of time, and Tennant said Doc 10 isn't with her. So!

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Yeah, it seems probable there's something a little queer goin' on with that episode. There are all sorts of convoluted theories out there, of course.

The way that Donna is wired up, and the presence of that vortex manipulator, seems to suggest she's on some kind of a weird technical journey. Either she's going somewhere abnormal or she's trying to remain the same while everything around her is changing. There are a few ways that Rose can tie into that framework. They mostly suggest she'll be gone, though, once Donna is back where she should be.
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

"real" doctor who fans can go twist a tit and fuck off honestly. They don't even like McCoy for the most part!

Also, my wife got me the greatest xmas gift ever which I will post a picture of here when it comes in the mail (it was delayed).
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Let us know how effective it is as a sexual aid.
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Westacular · Posted: Wed Dec 26, 2007 10:40 pm Post subject:

Well, the baseball bit and that slow-mo all-is-doomed/Doctor-as-Jesus? segment were two jarringly cringe-worthy moments. Seriously, I don't see how anyone could have thought those two things would work.

Aside from that, there was plenty of enjoyable moments. I'm not sure how well the whole thing fits together, though; the horror-movie style mix of characters felt a bit disorganized and left me wondering what role this special plays in the big picture -- beyond making the Doctor even more depressed for the start of series 4.

Part of me was expecting the Titanic to drop on top of Buckingham Palace like something out of a Monty Python animation (and was disappointed when it didn't happen).

The most striking part of the new revision of the theme is the bit heard just as the episode title appears. It's straight out of various older versions, and something that never seemed to be missing before, but now that it's there, it... just works.

The other week I realized the lyrics to The Stowaway become quite amusing when you remember how Moffat likes to use "dancing" as a euphemism/metaphor. I'm thinking it's intentional.

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

I've not seen him looking like that, either! He is a man of disguise.

People have been referring to that one bit as the "Wii Sports" scene. On a second watch, it did go on a little while. The first time, I was fascinated that they only smacked back a couple of halos before they started to actually get injured. And the stakes were raised a bit by one likable character already having been "melted" (as Moffat put it).

Thing is about Buckingham, you REALLY expect it to happen after the last three years. The moment it's set up, you start to think "uh oh". And you're waiting for the punchline. (There's even that glorious business with Bernard Cribbins, toward the start.) Then... it doesn't happen. Which made me guffaw, violently. That's the "Flight of the Darned" bit I mentioned. Feels ever so slightly subversive. Let's not destroy a London landmark this time! Just almost.

Of course, I also cackled at the angel bit. That was just so strange, and Tennant played it so straight. Somehow all of this weirdness right after an emotional jolt felt pretty appropriate to me. She's gone, that's not supposed to happen, nothing makes any sense, let's bring in the chorus line. I actually expected some kind of a musical number at that point.

The two things that really stand out to me about the new theme are the bit you mention, and the dramatic triplet right before the episode title appears. That latter bit somehow makes the whole arrangement seem 100% cooler. More rock 'n roll.
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Westacular · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 1:18 am Post subject:

The angel gag itself wasn't what perturbed me; it was all the preceding stuff in slow motion and the Doctor just staring at the camera with flames in the background that seemed out of place.

Yeah, it's to communicate the shock, and that things make no sense at that moment. In that sense, it's successful, I suppose, but I think it could have been done in a less heavy-handed fashion. The angels taking off is like a punch line with an unnecessarily awkward setup.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Yeah, the slow motion gesticulation was pretty hammy. Not the first time that sort of thing has happened, either. It's reminiscent of the reaction shots in Smith & Jones. [In that episode] At first I thought, hey, great. Stunned silence. They're underplaying it. Then... they didn't. Oh well.

[Back in this episode] They did need that beat there, but they could have pulled it off way better.

To mention, 50 million credits = 1 million pounds. Or about 2 million dollars.

She spent 5000 credits on phone calls. He'll have to work twenty years to pay that off.

On the other hand, if that's the price of the tickets, that... sort of makes sense?
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Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

My first comment after finishing the christmas episode was "that director should never be hired again for a Dr Who"

I agree with Wes for the most part honestly.

It is the worst directed episode since the series was relaunched. Fear Her is the second worst, and the second half of The Satan Pit is third.

AND! There should be more discussion about how awesome my scarf is.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

With its power, you can become a Crayola mummy!

I was disappointed when they announced who was directing the episode. (James Strong; he also did Satan Pit and Daleks in Manhattan.) Still, as uninspiring as his work is, he pulled it off well enough for me this time. Probably because the script was stronger.

Yeah, though. They need to ditch him. Colin Teague is someone else I'd be glad to see vanish. Bad news: Mr. Strong returns for episode 4.01, and Colin Teague gets one major episode (4.02, the Pompeii one). Still, hey. Only one apiece.

The bulk of series four seems to be Graeme Harper. It's weird; he's so closely associated with the classic series, even though he only ever directed two serials for it. Everyone seems amazed with his work there. I never noticed any big difference in quality. In the new series he's directed seven episodes to date, and has five coming up. He's probably the most adequate director in the stables. Usually does a solid, workmanlike job, yet rarely does anything really interesting with the material.

My favorite directors haven't returned since their first run. With his five episodes (Dalek, Father's Day Boom Town, Bad Wolf, Parting), Joe Ahearne pretty much set the tone for series one. Then Charles Palmer and Richard Clark (particularly the former) were real finds for series three.

I'm most curious about Douglas MacKinnon, who directed the good half of Jekyll, and who is doing the Sontaran two-parter this time. Alice Troughton is also untested here, though she directed a couple of the best Torchwood episodes. She also did one of the better and certainly the worst SJA serials. So, three out of four?
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Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

I really like the new theme, it seems like it's indicating a ramp up of things to come. Like if this is the endgame of Tennant's doctor (which I still doubt), this is the theme for it.

As for direction, the only thing which bugs me is when they do a bunch of really bad lighting, like they light with neons and pinks and it looks cheap. Like Batman Forever and Batman & Robin, or a Universal Studios stage show. The finale last year had some of this inside the hulls of the ship. The Christmas special didn't, so much, only one or two instances.

Who did the Family of Blood two parter? The one shot that stood out there was the pan through the books during the Doctor's lecture.

I enjoyed the special. I'm glad that the last two specials have been fun romps for the most part instead of really heavy. I like what they did with Astrid's character at the end (didn't kill her, but didn't save her either.), and Earthanomics guy was awesome.

Killing off all the people you liked and letting the asshole live was very Joss Whedon. In fact, it was something in the original script for Speed I think?

The Angel thing, well, could've been worse. Maybe not as prolonged as it was, but. Great nods and payoffs. Alonzo, etc. Some people call that fanwank, but for Who, fanwankery to me would be pulling something randomly out of the old show and shoveling it into the new show without any care. This is also bits that've been set up in the new show and they're just paying off now. Slow burn, y'know.

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

Also, speaking of Christmas, my buddy got me the awesomest thing:

It makes the transport noise when you plug something in, and the light flashes on and off. (You can disable the sound if you want.)

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

Sorry:

I mean to say: 'This is JUST bits' instead of 'This is also bits'

As you mentioned, running gag.

And yeah, I would say Teague is the worst one. And whoever directed the Dalek one, some shots were really bad in that.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

That's Mr. Strong, yeah.

On the one end you've got "nothing" direction; on the other you've got "too much".

There were a number of individual, isolated shots that were interesting in VotD. And the script was better than in his other things. And the casting was good and performances mostly solid. Which makes it mostly the overall tone (Satan Pit) and a few weird decisions that bear the Strong hallmark.
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Westacular · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 4:04 pm Post subject:

That TARDIS thing is a USB hub?

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

Yeah, four port hub. My friend knew how hard it is to get to the back of my computer so he got it for me.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/computing/accessories/9223/ Smile

Shapermc · Hot Sake! Joined: 14 Oct 2004 Posts: 6279

I made a Dr. Who vs Snow Dalek snowmen today. I took pictures
will update it soon.
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“The average man has a secret desire to be a swaggering, drunken, fighting, raping swashbuckler.”
-Robert E. Howard in a letter to a friend circa Decmber 1932

"There is no place in this enterprise for a rogue physicist!"

Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

This one only travels in time, so, I foresee less problems.

digi · Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 5:15 pm Post subject:

Oh hey I see Doctor Who is alive on TGQ after all.

Yeah I totally forgot about this when Christmastine came Sad

butbutbut! I have now seen the episode in all it's spectacularly mediocre loveliness.
@ Aderack: yeah guffaw is a pretty accurate word for what I was doing throughout this. Part of me appreciates it [the part that goes "hey, it's just a Christmastine special and Davies probably thought it needed to be hammy as such"] though, I guess.

The dedication to Lambert at the end was a nice reminder.

Shaper's new disguise has inspired me to pick up the ol' knitting needles again.
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aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

I... just bought something really stupid.

http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/cubegoodies/8cff/zoom/

Well, I keep hearing how well-made they are. And it's not too expensive.
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Harveyjames · the meteor kid Joined: 06 Jul 2006 Posts: 3636

What are`you going to do with it once you get it? Cosplay?

Patrick Alexander · . Joined: 26 Jul 2007 Posts: 123 Location: various

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

I have one, and it is indeed awesome:

I use it to write out checks. There's a second nub with it you can use to write secret messages and use the blacklight to read them. My buddy in Iraq had nothing to watch or do, so I sent him the first two series as something to watch, and he sent me it back as a present.

As an aside, Aderack, the screw to get into the battery comparment is under the switch that extends the light. It pops off, you unscrew it (yes, you unscrew the screwdriver), and you put the batteries inside the shaft after removing the light from the rest of it.

I only tell you this because it took me a while to figure it out, since mine didn't have any directions and I couldn't figure out where they go. It's actually quite a clever way to hide the batteries.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

They should have made a Beast Wars character named Optimouse Dash.
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Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

I... I don't get it? Other than.. something to do with K'.

aderack · . Joined: 15 Jun 2005 Posts: 1105 Location: San Francisco

Yeah, in Japan they call that apostrophe mark (as in 1' for "one foot) "dash"; in other places, it's known as a prime mark.

I'm about to make a chocolate cake! Once I've rested from all my running around!
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Ashura · . Joined: 02 Dec 2006 Posts: 109

That part I understand (I actually thought he was K-Prime initially!), I was just wondering what brought on the Optimouse part. Unless you looked through the other pics in that directory and saw my Optimash and other assorted transformer errata. Smile